Suspended Labor boss Kaila Murnain has agreed she compromised Labor and cast an “unfair shadow” over the entire party by keeping quiet about the acceptance of unlawful donations from Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo.
Murnain cried as she was cross-examined on Friday by lawyers representing the Labor party, a party she said was “literally the only thing that mattered to me except for my family”.
Evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption shows Murnain failed to say anything about allegedly unlawful donations from Huang for more than three years, despite an electoral commission investigation and repeated media scandals involving Labor’s links to the Chinese property developer.
Labor’s barrister, Arthur Moses, SC, apologised to Murnain before asking her whether her actions had compromised the party.
Moses suggested Murnain’s choices left the party oblivious to the controversy and unable to identify attempts by those trying to exert influence on Labor.
“Do you accept though that by not disclosing this information to the party officers and the administrative committee, that you in fact compromised the party?” Moses said.
Murnain responded: “In hindsight, I wish I would have made very different decisions.”
She later agreed when Moses suggested her actions had “cast an unfair shadow over the entire party and its members, who are honest and decent Australians”.
Murnain told Icac she first learned of the Huang donation on 16 September 2016, during an evening meeting out the back of state parliament with former MP Ernest Wong.
Murnain has claimed she then sought an urgent meeting with the party’s lawyer Ian Robertson.
She said she was advised to tell no one about the revelations, and has used the advice to explain her inaction.
Earlier on Friday, Murnain was accused of being caught out by a key detail in her account of the Robertson meeting. Her evidence was that Robertson said he would not bill her for the advice about the Huang matter.
But an invoice produced to Icac on Friday shows Labor was billed for a meeting and phone calls between Murnain and Robertson on 16 September 2016 to discuss “political donation issues”.
Robertson’s barrister, Tony McInerney, says the meeting was likely to have been about a concurrent yet separate donations matter involving Labor state MP Nick Lalich.
Other documents show Murnain, then Labor leader Luke Foley, and Labor’s lawyers were talking about the Lalich matter on the same day.
McInerney accused Murnain of a “complete fabrication”.
“You came unstuck, didn’t you, with your version of events once you added in that Mr Robertson said he would not be billing you for the meeting, correct?” he said.
Murnain responded: “I did not.”
McInerney said: “Your evidence that he wouldn’t be billing you for the meeting is a complete fabrication, isn’t it?”
Murnain rejected the allegation.
McInerney has sought to cast doubt on the plausibility that Robertson would advise Labor to “effectively cover up” the unlawful donations.
At the time, at least five people knew of irregularities with the donations, journalists were investigating Huang’s links to the Labor party, and the electoral commission was investigating, the inquiry has heard.
McInerney on Friday accused Murnain of telling a “pack of lies”.
“Ms Murnain, your evidence to this commission has been a pack of lies hasn’t it?” he said.
Murnain responded: “No.”
The inquiry heard Murnain had repeatedly failed to say anything of several key meetings – including the Robertson meeting – when Labor was approached by the electoral commission or, later, Icac.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing and obviously I would do things differently if I could got back to that time,” Murnain said.
She said nothing of several key meetings – including the Robertson meeting – when she first gave evidence in private to Icac. She subsequently volunteered to come back for a second private examination, after refreshing her memory and deciding it was “the right thing” to do.
The commission is investigating whether Huang gave $100,000 in an Aldi bag to then Labor general secretary, Jamie Clements.
Huang is barred from donating in NSW because of his property development links. It is alleged a series of straw donors and falsified records were used to mask Huang’s contribution.
Huang issued a statement overnight denying any involvement in the donation. He has refused offers to give evidence under oath.
The inquiry continues before chief commissioner Peter Hall.
